


In A Small Space

by StarReads



Series: My Ferdibert Week 2020 Fics [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Claustrophobia, Fear, Ferdinand is scared and Hubert tries to help, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Hubert von Vestra, Pre-Relationship, cliche but that is how it goes, locked in a closet, they're very cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25805959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarReads/pseuds/StarReads
Summary: Ferdinand and Hubert just need some paper for class. But nothing is ever that simple for them.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Series: My Ferdibert Week 2020 Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870597
Comments: 2
Kudos: 83
Collections: Ferdibert Week 2020





	In A Small Space

**Author's Note:**

> This closet is based on an actual closet from my old church. Ferdinand lives out my greatest fear.
> 
> This was written for Ferdibert Week! I chose Fear for today's prompt.
> 
> Thanks again to Cy and Blake for betaing this fic!

"Will you two go fetch some paper from the supply room?" It was an innocent question, no hint of ill intent or malice about it. Professor Byleth was not the kind of person to purposely antagonize someone, so clearly they had not thought about just who they had paired up together for this task.

It was not that Hubert disliked Ferdinand. Quite the opposite, in fact, it was just that Ferdinand never failed to push all of his buttons. He was loud, prideful, overly-confident, infuriatingly intelligent, exceedingly handsome...he was a pain, is what he was. His only weakness seemed to be his one-sided rivalry with Edelgard and his insistence on making said rivalry known to anyone within earshot.

Despite his infuriating perfection, Ferdinand truly never stopped working. Even as they walked to the supply closet, Ferdinand had a notebook and pen in hand. He was scribbling something down almost too fast to be human, mumbling to himself about...weapons, probably. Or some other passing fancy that had consumed his mind as of late. That man seemed to have a new interest every week.

"You ought to watch where you're walking," Hubert said to him. Apparently, Ferdinand had forgotten he was there, as he started and almost dropped his pen. With a sheepish grin, he put his notebook back in his bag. It was almost infuriating how pretty even his awkward smiles could be. He almost wanted to punch him. 

"My apologies, I was just writing down some of my findings on these weapons from Dagda that Petra showed me. Dagdan and Brigidian fighting techniques are fascinating, actually," Ferdinand said. He could tell that Ferdinand was going to start talking about his latest interest in depth. Even though he did not find said topic particularly interesting himself, he elected to simply stand by and listen to his explanation. 

There was something about watching Ferdinand discuss the things he found interesting that made Hubert's heart race. So he simply walked quietly beside him as he went off on a tangent over the different ways someone could use short weapons in Brigid. He had to admit, what information he could process was indeed interesting. Ferdinand simply spoke too fast for him to really understand much of it.

By the time they reached the supply closet, Hubert knew quite a bit more about weaponry than he would otherwise. Ferdinand fumbled with the key to the supply closet, attempting to get it into the lock. It was...not cute. Definitely not cute. "You act like you have never used a lock before," Hubert said.

Ferdinand shot him a look over his shoulder. "I am just eager to get this over with so we can return to the lecture," he said. Hubert rolled his eyes at the malice in his voice. It was not as if Hubert had been overly mean lately. Recently, they had even seemed to be getting along. They may not have been the best of friends but nowadays they were not constantly at each other's throats. 

Finally, Ferdinand got the key into the lock and opened the door. Oddly enough, it swung inwards rather than outwards. It was a rather odd design choice for a supply cupboard. Ferdinand stood back to pocket the key and the door instantly shut. A click was heard as the lock repositioned itself. 

Well, this was definitely a murder closet. Call it morbid, but Hubert could legitimately not think of any other reason for a supply closet to operate like that. He could see as Ferdinand reached a similar conclusion. "You'll have to hold it open," Ferdinand said, unlocking the door for a second time. 

"I can do that. Is there a lock inside the closet as well?" Hubert asked. As Ferdinand stepped inside, Hubert grabbed the door and slowly made his way into the closet without letting it shut behind him. Ferdinand checked the other side of the door. "Nope, no lock from in here. Please be careful not to let it shut, with our luck this thing will also be soundproof," Ferdinand said, his tone joking but his face clearly serious.

"I'm not going to let go of the door," Hubert said. He looked around the closet while Ferdinand searched for the spare paper. The room was packed wall to wall with so many items of various uses that it felt cramped. It was a small room, barely big enough for both of them to stand side by side, and with the door open it made maneuvering around very difficult. 

"I found the paper!" Ferdinand said, pointing over both their heads and a large canoe. Hubert blanched at how high up it was. Who in all of Fódlan had organized this closet? What mad man put basic supplies so far out of reach? And why is there a canoe in the supply's cabinet? 

"It is too high up for us to reach. We should get a ladder and return," Hubert said. Ferdinand frowned looking down at his feet and then back to the stack of paper. Hubert could almost feel an idea forming in Ferdinand's brain, and he was sure he would not like it.

"No it is not! I am sure I can reach it if I just..." Ferdinand trailed off, reaching to brace himself against a higher shelf. He planted one foot on a box against the wall and yanked himself off the ground. Once he was dangling just a few inches above the safety of the Earth below, he moved his free foot higher onto a shelf. 

Hubert's stomach dropped. Just looking at Ferdinand's position gave him vertigo. If he fell from there he could seriously hurt himself. There was no telling how many sharp objects lurked among the overcrowded shelves.

"Ferdinand, that is highly dangerous. Please just let me-," Hubert began, but he was quickly cut off by the sound of creaking. Ferdinand went completely still for a moment, and for that one blessed moment he was sure he would abandon this foolish idea and come back down. However, Ferdinand did not budge. 

"Oh hush, you! Just hold the door open for us," Ferdinand said. He clambered higher still on the shelf. Hubert had half a mind to start in on him for risking his own safety over a stack of papers, of all things. "See, I've almost got it," Ferdinand retorted, removing a hand from the blasted shelf. If ever there was a moment in which Hubert would be justified for swearing at him, this would be it. 

Ferdinand reached up to grab the paper from the top shelf. Just as his fingertips were inches away, he slipped, his feet moving from their perilous position. He tumbled backwards, sending a few books and trinkets flying with him. 

A couple things happened all once. Hubert let go of the door and stepped fully inside to catch Ferdinand before he fell. The thud of Ferdinand's back against his chest nearly knocked him clean over, but at the very least neither of them had hit the floor and risked severe injuries. All would have been well...but the door clicked shut behind them. 

It took them both a moment to realize what had just happened. Hubert backed up slightly, now fully aware of just how small the room was even with the door closed. He and Ferdinand shuffled around for a moment so they could fully process their situation. 

Hubert tried the door knob, but as he already knew it would not budge. They were stuck. Presumably until someone came to free them. Hubert would laugh at the irony of Ferdinand being the reason the door closed after he had mentioned twice not to let it shut, but it really did not feel funny. 

Ferdinand looked upset. "Well, this is just great. We're stuck," he said, a slight tremor to his voice. Hubert was almost more shocked that he was genuinely upset than at their current situation. Ferdinand had always seemed...well, not unflappable but generally he was very optimistic, and this was not such a dire situation as to be concerning. "What are we going to do now?"

"Wait for the others to come get us," Hubert said simply. It was the simplest answer, after all, it was not like the others would simply forget where they had gone. Maybe Caspar would, but he could not hold that against him, since Caspar had trouble with memory to begin with.

"And what if they don't?" Ferdinand said, his voice raising an octave. Hubert sighed. He could tell Ferdinand was stressed, probably at how simple of a mistake they had made ('such foolish mistakes are unbecoming of a true noble!'). But Hubert had no idea how to comfort him without somehow making it worse.

"They will. And even if it takes some time, well, it is not like this can get any worse," Hubert said, trying to reassure his friend that they were not, in fact, in that bad of a situation. And then the light in the room flickered and went out. There was probably some lesson to be learned there, but the annoyance overshadowed it.

Hubert sighed, rubbing at his temples. There was no point in trying the door again, and the supply closet was too far away from the classroom for anyone to hear them. Hopefully if they were gone for long enough someone would come looking for them. If only he had a tome on his person, he could just blast the door down and pay for the damages later. 

He thought for a while about their options. They definitely could not stay here for long, the room was abysmally small and with no light they had to be very careful not to knock anything over. He looked around the room but somehow this closet had everything but candles. Just their luck, then.

It was only a few minutes later that Hubert realized Ferdinand had been oddly quiet. He strained his ears, but he could only hear breathing. Erratic breathing with the sort of pattern he would expect to hear on the battlefield after a soldier had taken a particularly nasty blow. It was a clear sign of panic. 

In the non-existent lighting, it was hard to see him, but Hubert shifted slightly to look back at Ferdinand. He was looking down at the ground, tensed up like he was staring straight into the eyes of a Demonic beast. As Hubert was breathing perfectly fine, he could only assume that Ferdinand was the one hyperventilating.

In the non-existent lighting, it was hard to see him, but Hubert shifted slightly to look back at Ferdinand. He was looking down at the ground, tensed up like he was staring straight into the eyes of a Demonic beast. As Hubert was breathing perfectly fine, he could only assume that Ferdinand was the one hyperventilating. 

  
  


"Ferdinand, are you alright?" Hubert asked. He did not respond. Hubert took that to mean that he was not, in fact, all right. He went to move away, whether to give him some space or just out of sheer awkwardness he did not know, but Ferdinand's hand shot out and grabbed him.

Hubert's eyes widened. Ferdinand's grip was tight, like he was scared to let go. Hubert truly had no other option but to move a little closer. He racked his brain for an explanation, and ran headfirst into one that was so ridiculously obvious he was surprised he had not immediately guessed it.

"Ferdinand are you..claustrophobic?" Hubert asked quietly. Ferdinand stayed very quiet, but he slowly nodded his head. Hubert had no clue what to do. He was not good at comforting people, but Ferdinand was clearly in distress. He could hear Ferdinand straining to speak, ao he waited.

"Please do not...tell anyone," Ferdinand whispered. Hubert figured he was embarrassed. It was the sort of fear someone might tease him about. Hell, that was why he was careful to keep his own fear of heights a secret. Giving your enemies ammunition was a horrible, horrible idea. "My lips are sealed," Hubert promised.

In an act of uncommon bravery, Hubert reached out tentatively and placed a hand on Ferdinand's back. He did not pat it or anything of the sort, simply held it there. He was actually not sure if that would help, but he also did not wish to upset him further. Ferdinand let go of his arm and for a second he feared he had done just that. 

However, instead of backing up Ferdinand wrapped both of his arms around Hubert's torso in a...hug. Hubert's face turned completely red. He had not been expecting that, and he almost wanted to push Ferdinand away, but...Ferdinand was scared. He wanted to help, even if he would never say that out loud.

Steeling himself, he wrapped his own arms around Ferdinand. It felt strange. He was not used to being hugged, had not been hugged in a very long time. Edelgard did not really do hugs herself, preferred her own space, and Hubert had little family to speak of. But this was nice. If the circumstances were different, he may even have said pleasant.

They sat like that for a moment or so. Ferdinand's breathing slowed down considerably. Hubert found himself speaking, just reiterating details from their earlier lesson until Ferdinand's heart no longer beat faster than his own. Eventually, it was calm. 

From outside the locked door, they heard the jingling of keys and grumbling. Ferdinand launched himself away from Hubert, knocking his head against the shelf behind them. When the door swung open, their savior found Hubert hovering over Ferdinand as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You kids alright?" Shamir asked. Fetdinand nodded, and Hubert guessed he was still too shaken up to speak. "He hit his head, but otherwise we are both uninjured. Just tired, we've been in here for far too long," Hubert said.

"Sorry about that, no one could find the spare key so we had to bother Seteth. Ferdinand, go visit Manuela and get your head checked," Shamir said. Hubert and Ferdinand stepped out of the closet, Ferdinand finally looking up from the floor.

"Thank you," Ferdinand said. Shamir nodded and walked off, but somehow he felt that Ferdinand had not been talking to her. He turned his head, and sure enough Ferdinand was looking at him with a fond smile. Hubert reached over and gingerly patted his shoulder.

"Do you need help getting to the infirmary?" Hubert asked. Ferdinand shook his head and stepped away, knees buckling. Hubert grabbed him before he could topple over, and glared at him. "Yes, actually," Ferdinand said weakly. 

With an eye roll and a sigh, Hubert moved one of Ferdinand's arms around his shoulder and wrapped his own arm around Ferdinand's hip to keep him steady. "Let's go," he said, jerking his head towards the infirmary. The two of them walked off. And if Hubert's face was red from the physical contact, well, that was his secret.


End file.
